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Monday, November 25, 2013

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

In The Rosie Project, Don Tillman, a genetics professor, is in search of a wife. He constructs a 14-page questionnaire to help him in his selection and weed out those who are undesirable. His Wife Project, isn't going all that great, until Rosie, who definitely wouldn't make the cut, walks into his life and changes him in ways he couldn't imagine.

I really enjoyed this wonderful debut novel. It's such a lighthearted, cute book with an exceptional quirky fun main character. At times, the story was laugh-out-loud funny. However, it wasn't always in your face. My favourite thing about the book was the subtle humour. There were a few times that I didn't get the "joke" until I had read a few sentences past it.

Another thing that I liked about the book was that most, if not all, of the major characters experienced some personal growth over the course of the story. Don was the one I was cheering for the most, but the others also changed in positive ways.

From the first page of the book, the reader knows that Don Tillman is quirky and not like most other people. While it doesn't exactly pinpoint Don's condition, I think it's implied or hinted at that Don has Aspberger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. Don has some of the same characteristics of Dr. Sheldon Cooper from the TV show, The Big Bang Theory. I absolutely love Sheldon, so it was terrific to read about a character like him. Their shared characteristics make them who they are; sometimes annoying, but always loveable.

The book is written from Don's perspective, which really is ideal for this story. It gives the reader insight as to what he's thinking and why he does what he does. In some ways, I could relate to him. For instance, lately I've been creating a number of small projects to tackle within the next year. I'm going to have to start giving them names. ;)

Even though I really enjoyed this book, at times it felt a little superficial. I don't think I fully connected with Don or Rosie because of that. While I loved Don, I thought Rosie was kind of abrasive. I didn't much care for Gene, Don's friend and confidant, but Gene's wife, Claudia, was okay. Don asked both of these people for advice on his Wife Project a number of times. Considering their marriage arrangement, I thought that was funny.

If you loved this book and want to read about another character with autism, Lisa Genova's Love Anthony (my review) is an exceptional book. It's very different from this one, but it can give you some insight into the mind of a very special little boy.

I could probably write a lot more about this book, but I think it's best if you just go read it.

Highly recommended.

For more information about this book, please visit the HarperCollins website.

After avoiding this book for months on my 'recommendations' lists I finally succumbed and read it. What an absolute and unexpected delight. Quirky and set in my home town I loved the characters and how they were written and highly recommend The Rosie Project.

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